"They quietly parted ways a while ago," a "close friend" of Taylor's reportedly told the mag.

The breakup wasn't contentious, according to the friend, and was mostly due to location challenges -- despite reports that Taylor had purchased a nearly $5 million Cape Cod estate near the Kennedy compound.

"It was just a distance thing. No hard feelings. They're fine," the friend explained.

Though Ethel Kennedy (Conor's grandmother) spoke very highly of Taylor just last week - saying she was "thrilled" she would soon be neighbors with the singer -- the friend said Taylor and Conor haven't seen each other in "over a month."

"With her promotion for 'Red,' she has no time off until the end of the year," said the friend.